An Analysis On The WTO Principle Of Consensus In Decision-Making Mechanism

WTO has made outstanding contributions in strengthening and promoting the multilateral trading system.However,with the economic globalization and multipolarization,the multilateral trade negotiations have become more and more difficult.It is difficult to reach a consensus on the intersection of interests.Since the Doha Round,multilateral trade negotiations have been suspended for so long and are still not completed.Defects in WTO decision-making mechanisms are important reasons for the stalemate in the Doha Round.Dominated by the developed countries,WTO decision-making mechanism is no longer able to adapt to the current development of the multilateral trading system.As the cornerstone of WTO decision-making mechanism,"consensus" embodies the WTO member-driven theory.However,this principle has defects in the value of justice and WTO practice.This article intends to start with the principle of consensus,analyzing the forming mechanism of "consensus" and "single package"(the extension principle of"consensus"),and find its defects in theory and practice.On this basis,I put forward the general ideas and concrete proposals for the reform of the WTO principle of consensus in decision-making mechanism.The main content of this thesis includes three parts:The first part introduces the basic outline of the WTO principle of consensus.Interpret the connotation of "consensus" and "single package" and introduce the process of their emergence and development.Then I analyze the institutional goal of the principle of consensus,pointing out that it aims to balance the different interests among WTO members and ensuring the democracy and integrity of WTO decision-making,so that the negotiation results can be implemented smoothly among all members.The second part analyzes the defects of the principle of consensus in theory and in the practice of WTO.In theoretical level,the justice value on which "consensus" principle rests is unfair under Frank's principle of maximum and minimum,Rawls's principle of difference and Harvey's theory of spatial justice.In practical level,"consensus" and "single package" principles are difficult to promote the development of multilateral trade,and cause adverse effects on developing countries.The concrete manifestations of these two problems are the reduction of the number of negotiation issues,the ineffectiveness of negotiation,the lack of democracy and the insufficient participation of developing countries.The third part is the countermeasure part of this article.The reform of "consensus"should be carried out under the ideology of "a community of common destiny" recently proposed by the Chinese Communist Party.Under this theory,developed countries should uphold the concept of "community of common destiny" in decision-making,respect differences and win mutually benefits with developing countries.Developing countries should pay attention to solidarity,strengthen international cooperation and boldly safeguard their own rights and interests.For the specific measures,we can use "variable geometry" for reference.Promote the development of the special and differential treatment rules,relax the stringent constraints of the "single package",allowing the emergence of multilateral trade agreements in some areas in response to the diversified development trend of the WTO,as well as normalize the rules of Green House conferences and the chairs of the negotiating groups.